LAKEVIEW — For pet supply store Sam and Willy's, it seems the competition finally got too ruff.
In its 13 years at 3405 N. Paulina St., eight other pet food stores and three big box retailers have popped up within seven blocks.
So owners Tom Daniels and Missy Stevens are finally calling it quits, closing the store when the lease is up at the end of March.
"We feel like we've built really great relationships with customers, and a lot of people do rely on us for specific types of food," Daniels told DNAinfo Chicago. "That's the most disappointing thing about the closure."
Tom Daniels and his wife, Missy Stevens, are closing their pet supply store Sam and Willy's after 13 years at 3405 N. Paulina St. [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]
The husband-and-wife duo want to shift focus to their pet accessory line, Six Point Pet. Keeping Sam and Willy's afloat was distracting from that business, Daniels said.
"We've had to spend more time here because the sales have been slipping, so that didn't look like a feasible solution to us," he said.
Instead, the couple hoped to sell the business and keep it open. Interested buyers almost closed the deal, but backed out due to the decline in sales, Daniels said.
Sam and Willy's is marking down its inventory before closing at the end of March. The owners said the small business has struggled to compete with big box stores. [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]
Discounts will increase during the final weeks at Sam and Willy's — the owners are hoping to empty the store by the end of March.
But despite the bittersweet ending, "it's not a bad thing," Stevens said.
"It's been a bunch of fun," she said. "And now we're on to something new."
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
